


Little Monsters

by Lauren_is_a_moron



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty pisses off her classmates who turn out to be beasts of the night, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Magic, Sirens, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, repost, so kinda awkward lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 20:49:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21185774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lauren_is_a_moron/pseuds/Lauren_is_a_moron
Summary: Archie Andrews on Anger Management pills? Veronica Lodge scared of water? Jughead Jones no longer eats? When nosy editor of the Blue and Gold Betty Cooper, prints indecent information about her classmates and ends up in detention with them, everything seems reasonably okay. Obviously apart from the mortifying situation. But Betty hasn't been feeling herself all day. She brushes it off, until Kevin Keller slices his finger."Betty looked up and noticed both Archie and Jughead's heads had snapped towards Kevin- towards his bleeding finger. It wasn't curiosity or amusement like she expected. When she looked at the two boys, their eyes were fixated on Kevin's cut and nothing else."or: the supernatural breakfast club.





	1. Supermassive Black Hole

**Author's Note:**

> repossttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt woo this is so fun reposting all of these fics that meant a lot to me lmao ANYWAY. this was posted way back in like 2017 so it's kinda outdated but it's all good fam hopefully you'll like it.

Betty Cooper had been feeling weird. Weirder than normal. On top of the usual teenage hormones and feelings for every attractive boy that happened to bump into her, the feeling was foreign. Completely new to her. It had started as soon as she woke up. The second she had sat up, her head spinning. It took five minutes to convince her mother to let her go to school. Though really, Betty didn't think she was well enough for school. She had been burning up all morning, and just the thought of food made her want to vomit.

Except her mother had decided that it was the perfect time to have ‘_The Talk.’ _Despite the fact that she had started puberty four years ago. Alice Cooper had sat on her bed and held he hands in her lap. ‘Remember, Betty,’ she had murmured softly. ‘When it happens, try not to be frightened, okay? I went through it, as well as your brother and sister.’

‘Mom!’ She had squeaked. But Alice just shook her head. ‘You’re at the right age now,’ she murmured. ‘Elizabeth, I think it’s time for me to tell you about-‘

‘I’m late for school.’ Betty had jumped up, her cheeks blazing with embarrassment. She was grabbing her bag and running out of the house before her mother could call after her.

The feeling was just weird. She couldn’t think of anything else to explain it. She felt like when her first period had came in freshman year. Her stomach had been uncomfortably dancing all day, nausea twisting her gut. It was just like that. Except a thudding ache tickling the back of her skull accompanied it. Betty was just feeling like shit. She figured there was a bug going around, or she was just tired. She didn’t think much of it. Betty had brushed it off by lunch. Though she was still aware of the swarm of butterflies buzzing in her gut by the end of school. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a normal day. She had to stay behind an extra hour.

Betty slammed her locker shut, and ducked her head, corking her earphones in. The music wasn’t helping in the slightest. Her stomach was still doing flip-flops. The fact that the school corridors were teeming with kids bounding past her, eager to get home, didn’t help.

‘Betty!’ Reggie Mantle swept past in his football jersey. ‘I read your article! Damn, Andrews is a FREAK!’ He chortled, along with his posse. ‘Later, Cooper.’

Betty giggled nervously. ‘Thanks!’ She squeaked.

Betty inhaled deeply, pressing her textbooks to her chest as she made her way down the corridor, bumping past excited freshman and lingering seniors. Sometimes she wished her blonde hair wasn’t in such a strict ponytail. She wished she could hide her face with it, letting it cascade down her face like she was in some kind of horror movie. But Betty had to keep her image perfect. So instead of experimenting, like every other teenage girl her age, Betty stuck to knitted cardigans and pastel pink and blue colours. As well as her ponytail.

Betty squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the nauseous feeling into the pit of her stomach. Her throat was dry, and she didn't have any water. Damn. It wasn't just the weird feeling that had enveloped her that was worrying her. It was the next hour that was twisting her stomach into knots.

Of course she had to get sick on the day of her first detention. Betty was a golden student of Riverdale High. Though it was entirely all her doing that had landed her in detention. She had been desperate for gossip for the school paper, The Blue and Gold and given into her demons, breaking into the school records. The good news; She had found out that Archie Andrews was on Anger Management pills, and Veronica Lodge had a phobia of water.

Even more interesting. Ever since a couple of months ago, Jughead Jones no longer ate. Literally anything. Betty had seen his records were full of doctors notes for eating disorders she had never heard of and printed out emails from his father. Before printing the article, she had watched him for three lunchtimes in a row. Jughead had simply stared down hard at his burger, as if wanting to eat it. But he ended up pulling out his laptop and vigorously typing on that instead. When he had gotten up to leave, he’d grabbed his stuff and left the burger.

It was the perfect gossip. Archie, Veronica and Jughead had officially became the most interesting people in Sophomore year. Ignoring how insensitive and she guessed...mean? it was, Betty spent all night perfecting her piece, and published it the next day.

The article was on the very front page, accompanied with yearbook pictures of the three.

**‘BULLDOG, RIVER VIXEN AND WRITER: THE TRUTH.’ **She figured that was the perfect headline. It had a good hook. Something to draw in the reader.

The bad news? Principle Weatherbee had found out, and made her destroy the articles. And thrown her in detention. With the supposed “victims” of her so-called “Bullying”.

Betty Cooper figured herself as a woman of class. She didn't purposely try and provoke and annoy her classmates, she just ended up doing it anyway. Though the same thing couldn’t be said for them. With Archie and Veronica both being popular, on the top of the high school hierarchy, she didn’t have a chance. Betty wasn’t expecting a confrontation. She had gone to school with the two of them for years and the three of them happily tolerated each other. Betty was okay with that. Though yesterday, when she had been happily chomping through her peanut butter and jelly and instructing her editor, and best friend since Freshman year, Kevin Keller, on how to gather more legal gossip. Her three supposed “victims” had tracked her down. Kevin Keller had been the first one to notice, while she had been too focused on her notes lain out in front of her. ‘Uh, Betty.’ Kevin cleared his throat, fiddling with his dark hair, suddenly nervous. At that point, Betty had thought he wasn't able to able to keep up with her fast-talking voice. ‘What?’ she had looked up, and nearly dropped her pen- upon seeing the three most famous kids in Sophomore year.

Thanks to her.

Archie Andrews, Veronica Lodge and Jughead Jones, looming over her, each clutching a copy of The Blue and Gold. They were in their signature High School clique ensemble. The Bulldog was wearing his Jersey, The River Vixen was in her cheerleading outfit, and the writer- well, he was just holding his laptop. All three of them had barely acknowledged each-other in the two years they had been at Riverdale High. But they seemed to have made an unspoken pact that they were going to collaboratively rip her head from her shoulders. Betty would have been scared, if she didn’t have a stupid high school crush on all three of them.

Kevin let out a breath and ducked his head to busy himself with working, but Betty could tell he was listening in. He was scribbling way too fast. He was doing some intense short-hand. Though she didn’t blame him. She too would eagerly listen in on a confrontation.

‘What the hell?’ Veronica was the first to hiss out, and Betty wondered if the girl was part snake. Her tongue was unnaturally long. Though damn, Veronica Lodge was a beauty. She had unblemished olive skin and sleek dark hair tied in Blue and Gold ribbons, and Betty had to admit it. She was hot when she was angry. They all were, god dammit.

Veronica held up a copy of the magazine, which was open on the page of the article. Betty could just make out her name signing off the piece. She had been so excited about the information she had gathered, she had not once thought of the repercussions.

‘Is our River Vixen cheer captain scared of water?!’ Veronica squawked, ragging the magazine angrily. Betty swallowed the urge to remind her that she was destroying school property. Though her mouth was dry. ‘What right do you have to print this?’ Veronica demanded. Archie, who was stood next to her, nodded. Archie Andrews was the most attractive redhead Betty had ever seen. The boy was the Varsity team captain. He had bright red hair that contrasted almost perfectly with his pale freckled face. His lips were almost always set in his trade-mark jock grin, but he scowled at Betty, his brown eyes blazing.

‘I’m not on Anger management pills.’ He grumbled. Though his expression, as well as his fists clenched a bit _too_ tight around the magazine he held, and the fact that every word he spoke seethed from gritted teeth, backed up Betty’s article perfectly. Betty waited for Archie to let out a laugh, but the boy only stood, frozen, glaring at her. She didn’t care how many times he denied it, Archie definitely had an anger problem. Jughead stood next to him covering his mouth and nose, grimacing. ‘Dude, you smell like wet dog.’

Though it didn't stop Betty finding him ridiculously attractive. Those dark eyes and tousled red locks stuck to his sweaty forehead. Archie Andrews was Riverdale High’s eye-candy.

Betty wasn't sure what to say. “Sorry” just didn’t cut it. The three of them were the talk of the school, and had been cast out of their social groups, for being _surprise-surprise_ imperfect. Betty thought it was all ridiculous. That you had to be mentally and physically healthy to be on the football team. The River Vixens had let go of Veronica, because apparently they couldn’t have girls on the squad that kids were bitching about.

So, all in all, Betty had ruined their lives.

Jughead Jones, the kid she had practically told the whole school he had an eating disorder, finally spoke up. "Do you know how insensitive this is?" He growled, also seeming to be on the same page as Archie. The two boys eyed her like she was dinner. Jughead was waving a copy of The Blue and Gold. He let out a harsh laugh, which startled her slightly. "Does Jughead Jones have an eating disorder?!" he spat, imitating her article. He dropped the magazine like it was diseased, and folded his arms across his chest. 'What the fuck has it got to do with you, Cooper?!'

Jughead Jones one of them brooder type guys, who smoked weed and let everyone know it. He was almost always in the same clothes; all of which were black. His style was usually jeans, a t-shirt and his jacket wrapped around his waist. Just a few months ago, he had been sitting on the bleachers at lunch, sucking on a joint. She had been strategically seated so she could see the whole field and was doing some A* cover work. While getting a tan in the late Fall sun. Her gaze had been fixated on Cheryl Blossom, who was rumoured to be pregnant.

"Want one?" He had murmured through a plume of smoke snaking from his lips. He had held out the blunt, and Betty had been so surprised he had even talked to her, she had forgotten how to speak. After a few seconds, he nodded, raising his eyebrows. "Alrighty." He murmured, shooting her a smile before sticking the blunt back between his lips. His gaze returned to the football game going on, and Jughead jones never spoke to her again.

Until she had ruined whatever reputation he had managed to build.

Betty sat up straight, her cheeks blossoming. She could feel them burning, and she tightened her hands into fists in her lap. She winced when she felt her fingernails stabbing into the flesh of her palm. Jughead cocked his head, awaiting an answer. He was pissed. He was intimidating as hell. But like Archie and Veronica, he looked fucking gorgeous when he was pissed. ‘Well?’ He repeated. ‘Do you have an explanation or are you just going to sit there like a fucking melon?’

Betty had eventually found her voice, after Kevin let out an indiscreet snort. She shot the boy a warning glare, before clearing her throat. At that point she was only thinking about saving her own skin. ‘I have sources.’ She told the three of them, with what she hoped was a smile. But it had felt more like a grimace. Veronica had laughed, a bit too loud for her liking. ‘Sources?!’ The cheerleader spat. ‘Destroy them.’ She growled, and before Betty could open her mouth, the girl shook her head. ‘I don’t wanna hear it, I want every single copy gone,’ Veronica leaned in close until Betty could smell her tangy perfume.

‘Get. Rid. Of. Them.’ The girl spat. Though Betty wasn’t a girl to back down. She smiled sweetly. ‘But the things I wrote were true.’ She said softly. ‘The whole point of the Blue and Gold is-‘ She was about to say “Know and respect each-other” But Veronica cut her off with a snarl. ‘Invading our privacy?’ She yelled. Betty winced. Too loud.

Eventually, their shouting-match got the attention of the principle. And it didn't go down well. Archie, Veronica and Jughead were thrown in detention for different reasons. Veronica, for dumping Kevin’s salad over Betty’s head, Jughead for trying to hold the cheerleader back from throwing herself at the blonde when Betty _implied_ that Veronica Lodge wasn't so perfect after all. And Archie for being a bystander (an incredibly hot headed bystander who just stood there seething, watching Veronica try and straddle Betty, who refused to destroy the article.

Betty and Kevin had to sit through a half-hour lecture from the school councillor on Morals and the difference between getting a story, and ruining a life. The magazines had been revoked from the student body, and it became a rule that if anybody was caught reading or in possession of The Blue and Gold Issue #133, they were to be sent to the principles office.

To top it all off, Betty had received The Lecture Of All Lectures from her mother, followed by disappointed looks from her older sister Polly. Betty felt like she she had murdered someone.

In the end, Betty had found herself a celebrity for a day and a half. Everyone knew her name. But now she was in a vastly emptying school with a dodgy stomach and had been cast to a room with the kids who yesterday wanted to murder her. Betty walked as slow as she possibly could down the corridor, hoping a meteor would hit and obliterate everything in its path. Including her and the three kids who’s lives she had supposedly ruined.

Detention was in a science classroom. She made her way in, and quickly claimed the empty seat next to Kevin, ducking her head. Betty hadn’t scanned the room, but she was sure Archie, Veronica and Jughead were dotted around the classroom. Probably telepathically communicating how many wardrobes they could construct from her bones.

There was no teacher yet, and Kevin took that miracle as the perfect time to turn around and start chattering away to her. Betty smiled and nodded in all the right places, but her head was pounding. She was sure she was going to vomit. Betty kept her head down, but her anxiety was getting the better of her. She gritted her teeth and found herself scratching her nails into her desk. Something was _wrong_ with her. She started to burn up all over, her stomach still performing cartwheels. Kevin’s voice until that point had sounded faded, in the distance. She felt like she was under-water. Her head was pulsing, she could feel her heart slamming against her chest. Betty let out a shaky breath. What the hell was wrong with her? Was she sick? Betty vaguely heard Kevin talking about – she wasn't sure.

‘Betty? Are you listening?’ Kevin waved a hand in front of her face, and she nodded- which caused a neutron star collision to explode in front of her eyes. Her head throbbed as bright colours and colourful zig-zags rotated and floated across her vision.

‘Mm.’ Betty wasn't capable of asking for help, or even getting up. She only prayed for the pain to stop. It felt like someone was smashing a brick into the back of her skull. 

Was this karma? For what she had done? Betty tried to look at Kevin, but her eyes were going in and out of focus. She blinked and felt the tickle of vomit searing her throat. _Not now_. Her gaze seemed to bypass Kevin, and was settling on Jughead Jones. He was sitting at the front of the class, his head of dark hair nestled into his backpack. When she risked a glance behind her, Betty spotted Archie Andrews and Veronica Lodge sitting on the table behind. Veronica was leaning back in her chair, her eyes on her phone, while Archie’s head was turned, his head cocked thoughtfully as he stared out at the rapidly darkening sky. There was a half-moon illuminating the twilight smear across the clouds.

‘Alright, heads up. Phone’s away.’ The teachers voice snapped her out of it slightly, and she turned back to face the front, wincing when her head spun once again. Jughead lifted his head from his backpack, his dark hair tousled in his face. Betty rarely saw him without his beanie. Jughead looked at her for a second, just a fleeting glance. Had he been asleep? The boy’s gaze strayed on her for a moment, his eyes half-lidded. Betty would have smiled, as a kind of truce. But the pain in her head was getting progressively worse. Jughead frowned at her, his eyebrows pushing together. Betty wondered if she was doing a good job of hiding that she was in agony.

‘Jones! Face the board!’ The teacher- Betty was yet to know his name- yelled at Jughead, who rolled his eyes and twisted in his seat to the face the front. The teacher looked to be a grouch who was nearing retirement. He wore a sweater and a pair of spectacles sat on the bridge of a rather pointy nose. He reminded Betty of a witch. ‘Alright, my name is Mr Wheeler.’ He introduced himself. ‘Please don’t tell me your names. I don’t care.’

Kevin glanced at her, his lips curved into a smile. ‘Lovely.’ He mouthed.

Archie and Veronica snapped to attention, the jock turning back to face the teacher, and the cheerleader stuffing her phone in her lap. Veronica raised her hand and the teacher sighed, like he’d just been told he’d been given a day to live. ‘What do you want?’

‘Uh, can he speak to us like that?’ Kevin hissed. He was leaning on his folded arms.

Betty rubbed at her head, resisting the urge to hiss out in pain. The pain was dulling slightly, but her stomach had started to prance again. Veronica cleared her throat. ‘Not to sound prude, sir,’ When Betty turned to look at her, the girl was smiling sweetly. ‘But I don’t belong here.’ She said. Archie rolled his eyes. ‘Ron, you chucked potato salad all over her head.’ He murmured, glancing at Betty. Veronica shrugged. ‘She deserved it!’

‘You could have handled it like an adult, Y’know,’ Jughead spoke up from the front. He smirked at the girl. ‘We all deserve to be here.’ He said promptly.

The teacher sighed. ‘Thank you for that wonderful declaration,’ He grumbled. ‘Now, I want all of your attention.’ Betty winced when a slash of pain rocketed across her head. The teacher frowned at her and folded his arms. ‘You don’t look very well.’ He muttered, his expression edging on possibly the first emotion she had ever seen on his face. 

Betty forced a smile. There was nothing more she wanted more than to run out of the classroom and out into the fresh air. But the thought of standing up and stumbling out, right in front of her fellow delinquents, it made her feel even more faint. ‘I’m okay.’ She lied.

The teacher nodded with a sigh. ‘Alright, It’s your funeral.’ He muttered. ‘If you feel like dying, please make sure you don’t do it in my classroom.’

_Thanks_. Betty thought sourly. She bit her lip. The feeling that had been bothering her all day was starting to drive her mad. It was rooted inside, clawing desperately for a way out.

The teacher clapped his hands, and the noise went right through her. She felt it slamming into her brain, a wave of feedback making her stomach turn. ‘Alright, I don’t believe in students doing nothing for an hour.’ Mr Wheeler grumbled. He pointed behind the five teens, and they turned around in unison. Betty stayed facing forward and squeezed her eyes shut. Something was crushing her chest, turning her stomach. It was like an entity was inside her, taking her over. ‘Betty?’

Betty opened her eyes to see Kevin’s blue eyes wide with worry. He leaned forward. ‘Are you okay?’ he murmured. ‘Dude, you look white.’

Betty shook her head. She was sweating all over. She could feel straying strands of her hair sticking to her forehead, her tank top glued to her chest. ‘No.’ She said softly, tears springing to her eyes. ‘Kevin, I don’t-‘ Betty started to try and explain what she had been feeling, but was interrupted by the teacher. ‘You two!’ He growled. ‘Get over here.’

Kevin grabbed her hand reassuringly, but abruptly let go like he had snatched hold of a hot iron, and yelped out in pain. Betty yanked her hand back. ‘What?’ she whispered. ‘Kev, what is it?’

Kevin stared at her, his mouth agape. ‘You’re boiling hot!’ he hissed.

Betty frowned at him. She was sweating, yes. But she didn't feel like she was _burning_.

Betty opened her mouth to try and offer some kind of explanation, but Mr Wheeler let out a loud, infuriated sigh.

‘Are we interrupting you?’ The teacher demanded. Betty gritted her teeth. ‘Sorry sir.’ 

_Don’t fall_. She mentally hissed at herself as she made her way to the back of the classroom where Veronica and Archie stood with the teacher in front of a pile of dirty science equipment. Jughead stood to the side. Betty couldn't help noticing he was keeping his distance from everyone. He stood casually, his arms folded.

‘Finally.’ Veronica muttered, rolling her eyes. ‘God, she’s such an attention seeker.’ 

Any other day Veronica’s words wouldn’t have fazed her. But for some reason, the girl’s words dug hard in her gut. In her chest. Betty felt her blood boil, anger flooding her like a sea of lava. She couldn't even feel the pain from her fingernails pinching her hands.

_Calm down._ She told herself. She let Veronica’s harsh words roll off of her, and eventually she leaned against a desk, letting out a shaky breath. Kevin stood next to her. He was stiff, his gaze kept flicking to her balled fists at her sides. ‘So,’ Kevin muttered, leaning into her as the teacher instructed the others how to wash up properly. ‘Are you ready to tell me why your hand was one thousand freakin’ degrees?’ he hissed through gritted teeth.

Betty fixated her gaze on the teacher. She didn't dare look at Kevin. ‘How am I supposed to know?’ 

Kevin chuckled a little hysterically. ‘You’re not freaked out?!’

‘Alright, now we’re all _here_.’ The teacher said. ‘I hope you all understand how important clean equipment is. Now, Can someone tell me what hazards are in a science classroom?’

Nobody attempted to answer. Mr Wheeler sighed for what have been the hundredth time. ‘Acids!’ He spat out, making Veronica jump. She had been meticulously scanning her nails. The teacher prodded his wrinkly finger at the pile of equipment. ‘I’ll just let you get on with it.’ He grumbled. ‘Try not to kill each other.’

With that, Mr Wheeler was exiting the classroom, slamming the door, leaving the five of them. Once the teacher was gone, Archie let out a shaky laugh. ‘Wow. He was pleasant.’

Veronica giggled nervously. ‘Don’t you think he looks like Walter White?’

Archie nodded with a smirk. ‘I can see it.’

Betty felt weak. She steeled herself against the desk she was leaning on. Kevin didn't move from her side. Once the teacher, or grouchy OAP was gone, the others jumped into action. Archie started up the faucet and piled the dirty beakers into the sink. Veronica and Jughead stood by and watched.

"Are you guys just gonna stand there?" Archie twisted to face them, his hands deep in the basin. He grabbed a soiled rag and started to scrub at stubborn stained glasses and beakers. Veronica looked uneasy. She stood a fair distance from the faucet. 'I'll be no help,' she murmured, her gaze flicking to Betty. I'm "scared of water" remember?'

Betty stiffened. She felt something ignite inside her once again. Dark and different. And she had no idea how to control it. Kevin sighed.

'Can you just let it go? The article was destroyed. Leave Betty alone.’

Archie scoffed. 'Yeah, and our high school lives.'

Jughead rolled his eyes. 'Can we just leave it?' He was staring at the floor for some reason, his voice shaking slightly. Betty wondered if he was sick too.

"No, it's okay." The words coming out of her mouth weren't even hers. She felt like she was on autopilot. Betty lifted her head and her gaze stuck to Veronica. The urge to dive over and rip the girl's hair out was overwhelming. 'It was a shitty thing to do and I get that now.' She said softly. She glanced down at her hands covered in bloody half-moons. Kevin noticed automatically and mouthed _what the hell?_

Veronica's glare softened slightly, and she raised her eyebrows. 'Was that an apology, Cooper?' 

Betty shrugged. 'I guess?' she started to say, but the latter half of 'guess' was drowned out by the sound of every beaker and glass in the sink shattering. Archie jumped backwards. At first Betty thought he had dropped them, but she watched in fascination as beakers lining the sink blew up one after the other, showering the group with glistening fragments of glass.

'What the hell?!' Veronica managed to yell. Jughead let out a hiss of surprise and ducked, before backing away. Veronica grabbed Archie's hand and the two of them stumbled into the line or desks. Betty unclenched her fists, and the commotion stopped abruptly, leaving the five of them to stare in bewilderment around the classroom, where broken shards of glass decorated every surface.

'What...' Kevin was the first to speak up, cutting into the silence which had been the five's individual shaky breaths. 'Just happened?'

'Okay, hands up.' Jughead said shakily. 'Who's got X-men powers?'

Betty felt the lacerations in the flesh of her palms. Her head was spinning again. Was Jughead Jones sort of on to something? Was it her that had made those containers explode? Betty had been so invested in the exploding science equipment she hadn't realised the pain in her head was gone, the pulsing in her gut. Her vision was back to normal.

Betty started to move forwards to get make a quick getaway, but she cringed when her shoe crunched through a severed beaker head that had been tossed across the classroom. Kevin knelt down and studied tiny pieces of broken glass littering the floor. 'How is this possible?' he murmured. He shakily reached out and picked up a shard, before wincing. 'Ow!' he dropped the glass automatically and laughed nervously. 'Stupid thing spiked me.' he muttered. Betty watched as a scarlet droplet appeared on his index finger. Kevin wafted it, irritably. Then she looked up and noticed both Archie and Jughead's heads had snapped towards Kevin- towards his bleeding finger. It wasn't curiosity or amusement like she expected. When she looked at the two boys, their eyes were fixated on Kevin's cut and nothing else.

'I'll get you a bandage.' Veronica said, oblivious of the way the two boy's had stiffened. She wandered over to the cupboard by the basin and opened it up, pulling out the health and safety kit. Then she grabbed a roll of toilet paper and wet it under the faucet. The girl turned to Kevin as she ran the water, her manicured fingers clutching the wet rag under the stream. 'Do you mind if it's cold water? I don't think we have-'

And then everything exploded. Well, not exactly. In Betty's mind, anything logical, normal and mundane splintered, like the glass still decorating the floor. At the exact moment Veronica Lodge collapsed onto the ground with a yell, Jughead Jones let out an inhuman snarl and leapt across the room at Kevin Keller. Archie, following swiftly behind. Kevin backed away slowly. 'Betty?' he whimpered.

Though for a second Betty's focus was only on one thing. Veronica had landed on her front, her expression a mixture of shock and horror. Her dark hair was no longer sleek and perfect, instead it was damp and tangled in her face. But that's not what set Betty's heart into a frenzied motion. It was the fact that the girl now sported a long, bright blue fish tail, that flopped as the girl struggled to get up.

_Scared of water_. Betty saw the girl's file in her mind. The different notes and psychological exams. She couldn't seem to stop staring, until Veronica, having gotten over her initial shock, gestured wildly to the door. 'Shut it!' she squeaked. She seemed too shocked to say anything more coherent. Betty wasn't going to say it, but her mind was screaming the word. The mythical creature that _wasn’t real. _Wasn’t suppose to be real. Yet here she was in modern America, staring at Veronica Lodge, who was a real, actual living and breathing-

‘Can you stop staring?! The girl snapped, making her jump. ‘Shut the fucking door!’

_Mermaid._

'O-okay,' Betty darted to the door and slammed it shut before Kevin's hiss rang out. 'Betty!'

Veronica whipped her head around, and let out another shrill squeak. Betty saw it too. Well, she saw a lot of things, but her mind was too busy re-reading Archie and Jughead's files.

Jughead Jones. Her lips mouthed his name, but no sound came out. _He doesn't eat._ She memorised a note found neatly stapled to his record, from his father. It simply said that he had a rare eating disorder meaning he could eat barely anything.

The dark haired boy seemed to be stalking towards Kevin, his mouth open, two shiny white glistening fangs protruding from red lips twisted into the smile of a carnivore. His eyes were a blazing red. The lazy stoner boy was gone. In his place was a real, actual fucking-

Kevin had backed into a desk and was trembling. ‘It’s okay,’ Jughead murmured, his voice sultry and soft. ‘I’m not gonna hurt you, Keller.’ Though everything about the way he was moving, stalking towards his prey, said otherwise. Betty had seen them on TV and films. She had read about them when she was younger. But now she was staring at one. Jughead Jones, the lonely stoner-writer with a rare sweet smile if you were lucky to catch it.

_Vampire._

It was too much to take in, and Betty was too afraid to even go near the boy. Instead her frightened gaze was already on the second kid, who had let out an almighty growl when Jughead had claimed Kevin as his dinner. The red-head had let out a whine, before scratching irritably at his head. But then Betty saw his eyes, like Jughead’s. They flashed a different colour. Not red, though. Instead Archie's eyes was a dazzling orange that illuminated his iris, almost as if they were on fire.

Archie Andrews. _Anger problems._ Betty remembered how he had stood, fists clenched, the occasional growl escaping his lips or rumbling from his throat.

'What's-' The red-head staggered away from Kevin, his gaze still on the boy's bloodied finger. 'What's happening to-' but his words morphed into a startled cry.

Betty watched in quiet horror as the boy fell to his knees and let out an ear shattering scream. Archie's football Jersey was torn from his shoulders in streaks of blue and gold strips, his back arching and contorting as his expression twisted with pain. Betty started to see the change. His whole body contorted, limbs flailing. Jughead's comment from yesterday finally hit her; 'You smell like wet dog.'

Betty would have laughed if it what she was looking at wasn't so horrifying. Archie’s mouth started to curve into a snout, and his legs gave way. She shivered when he let out another scream of agony that ricocheted around the classroom. Just like the others, he was _supposed _to be fictional. He was supposed to be a legend dating back centuries.

_Werewolf. _

Betty could only stare at the mermaid still struggling on the floor, the vampire closing in on Kevin, and the werewolf screaming and flailing curled up, as his bones cracked, his neck snapping. Betty’s heart dropped when the boy let out another whine of agony.

‘Archie!’ Veronica was yelling. ‘Oh god, are you- are you okay?!’

‘Does he look okay?’ Jughead turned away from Kevin, still with that animalistic grin.

Betty was definitely right about something not being right about them. But her mother’s words from this morning resurfaced in her mind, and she found herself staring at a jagged piece of glass at her feet. _‘When it happens, Betty. Try not to be frightened, okay?_

Oh. She thought, the very same second Jughead Jones turned back to his prey and pounced, knocking Kevin to the floor and straddling him. Betty clamped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut when the sound of his teeth ripping into Kevin's jugular, as well as her best friend's agonised cry slammed into her. 

Archie let out a very human howl of pain that rattled her ears. He had stopped mid-way through his change, and was lying on his front, panting. His torn jersey hung off him in tattered rags. He was covered in sweat. Archie lifted his head to stare at her, his brown eyes wide with terror. 

Betty couldn't concentrate. Jughead was sucking the life out of Kevin, and she couldn't _move. _Her mother's words continued to echo in her mind. 

_‘Elizabeth, I think it’s time for me to tell you about-‘_

_Oh._


	2. We Need To Talk About Kevin

Even the sound of Jughead Jones, stoner-kid turned real life vampire hungrily digging into Kevin Keller’s neck couldn't drown out of the sound of Alice Cooper in Betty’s head; _‘Elizabeth, I think it’s time for me to tell you about-‘_

Betty should have known it was something else. After all, she started puberty when she was thirteen, so what else had her mother wanted to tell her? Betty couldn’t help wondering at the back of her mind. If she was in a room with three other supernatural creatures, after she herself had caused something unexplainable with her anger. What the hell was she?

She wasn't ruling anything out. Anything fictional at least. Anything she thought only belonged painted across the pages of a book or deeply rooted in her younger selves’ imagination. Betty was stuck in a catatonic state. Her gaze glued to the window, at the half-moon illuminating the dark sky. 

The moon. She stared at it, squinting so she could get a better look. It pulsed in her vision as she strained her eyes, unable to stop thinking about Archie’s yelps and screams as his whole body, his bones- everything- twisted and contorted, trying to shape his body into an animal. But it had stopped, and she wondered _why_ it had stopped. Why Archie had suddenly collapsed, sobbing, his head buried in the floor. His legs looked broken beyond repair. His back was still arched, forcing him to face-plant the ground. Betty was sure he was going to die from his injuries. But amazingly, as time went by, as she found herself simply bound to staring at the boy in a heap on the floor since she couldn't move. She had to distract herself from the snarling as Jughead ripped into Kevin. She had tried numerous times to dash forward and effortlessly try and push Jughead away, but every time she dared pointing a ballet flat forward, the vampire turned and snarled at her.

So, ignoring the screeching in the back of her head telling her to make her escape, she focused on Archie Andrews.

His body had started to slowly revert back to normal. His spine curved back to its original position, his neck cracking into shape. Betty couldn't stand the sound of Archie’s bones crunching and snapping as he eventually changed back to his former self before curled into himself, shivering. She could still glimpse claws jutting from his skin, but like everything else, they were disappearing too.

And then, all she was staring at, was a sixteen year old boy curled up and trembling.

It was former River Vixen cheerleader Veronica Lodge who had snapped her out of it. Well, all of them out of it. The supernatural spell that had been cast over the four of them diminished and they slowly came back to reality. Veronica managed to flop onto her side, her tail making wet slapping noises as she attempted to push herself across the floor. Her dark hair hung in her face, her eyes wide, lips twisted into a grimace. ‘Betty!’ she hissed, twisting her head to glare at Betty. ‘Give me your jacket, quickly!’ That was when Betty blinked once, and then twice, sucking in her surroundings once more. A dimly lit classroom. Three classmates who were mythical creatures. One dying friend. Veronica let out a hiss of frustration. ‘Hurry up!’

Betty snapped into wakefulness and nodded slowly, her eyes still wide with shock, before taking off her pastel pink knitted cardigan, screwing it up and chucking it at the girl. Veronica caught it quickly and started to rub desperately at her bright blue tail, which seemed to be infused with her upper half. Her breasts were covered in blue scales. She was a fucking _mermaid._

Betty watched the girl feverishly scrub at her tail. She felt like asking _why?_ What was that going to do? Except the words caught in her throat when she watched the long tail stretched out on the floor simply evaporate and Betty found herself once again looking at Veronica Lodge’s Blue and Gold cheerleading outfit. Her golden legs were instead splayed out, converse back on her feet.

It was like Betty had imagined the whole thing. Veronica jumped up, a little unsteady on her feet. ‘Whoa.’ She held out her arms to keep her balance. Betty stared at the girl; how the moonlight seemed to reflect from her eyes. Veronica inhaled sharply. ‘Don’t say it.’ The girl grumbled. ‘I’m not a mermaid.’ And before Betty could reply, the girl sighed. ‘I’m a Siren.’ She said. Her gaze flickered from Betty, to the..._situation_ at the back of the classroom. Veronica’s lip curled, her nostrils flaring, and Betty’s heart dropped. She had no idea what a Siren was, but she bet it involved human blood.

‘I'm good.’ It seemed to take her a while to tear her gaze from Jughead, or more likely his meal, before the girl turned her attention to much more _pressing_ matters. ‘I'm sorry, but stoner boy Jughead Jones is a Vampire? What’s his deal?’ She murmured, her lips twisting into a smirk.

Betty noticed Veronica was biting her lip. The girl seemed entranced by the scarlet smears decorating the floor where Jughead had ripped into Kevin. Betty stared at her. ‘What’s his _deal?!’ _she hissed. ‘He’s eating my friend!’

Veronica’s eyes darkened. ‘He does smell pretty good.’ She murmured. But Betty could tell she had complete control. ‘Archie.’ The dark haired girl murmured, her green eyes were on the boy in a heap on the floor. His red hair was a tousled mess and Betty had a sudden overwhelming urge to run her fingers through it. 'He’s a wolf?’ she giggled. ‘Brings a whole new meaning to the word _Bulldog_.’

Both girls turned to the clear elephant in the room. Jughead Jones, who had been hungrily feasting on Kevin Keller. He stopped abruptly and pulled away. Betty instinctively grabbed Veronica’s arm, but the other girl yanked away with a hiss, her gaze on Jughead who was facing away from the two them. Everything in Betty’s primal instincts was telling her to get the hell out of the room. Yet at the same time, something glued her to the ground, as if she too belonged with the three of them.

The Vampire, the Siren, the Werewolf and...._what?_ She knew she was _something_. Betty had caused a dozen beakers to just implode just by getting angry. So what did that make her?

Eventually, she turned to Veronica, who she guessed was the most sane out of her classmates- turned mythical creatures- well, for now. ‘What do we-‘ she started to say, but the girl shushed her loudly, grabbing hold of her arm, and gesturing to Jughead. Betty had to bite back a cry when she realized the girl’s fingernails were sharpened claws digging straight into her skin.

She thought Jughead was going to kill Kevin. It seemed fitting- after all, he was a blood thirsty creature of the night. Though she was surprised when the dark haired boy broke away from Kevin, who flopped to the ground like dead-weight. Jughead let out a few shaky breaths and wiped his mouth, before turning and smiling uneasily at Betty. He was still straddling her best friend, who lay at an awkward angle, his skin white, eyes shut. There were two huge teeth marks in the boy’s neck. Jughead had a clean bite. Though she was pretty sure Kevin was either dead, or dying.

‘This isn’t good.’ Jughead murmured. He turned to the girls, and Betty felt her chest clench. His mouth and chin was smeared scarlet, his eyes still a dark red. Jughead frowned, his fangs still poking from his lips. He licked them and grimaced, running his blood-stained hands through his dark hair. He sounded confused, almost childlike. ‘Did I just kill Kevin Keller?’ He was staring down at Kevin, who was motionless. Betty wanted to run over, to see if her friend was okay. But Jughead terrified her. He glanced at her, and she flinched. He was waiting for an answer.

‘Looks like it.’ Veronica muttered. Though she took a few steps forward, a little less hostile. ‘Is he breathing?’

Betty could still see Jughead’s fangs poking from his upper lip. Two sharp points capable of ripping her in half. Though his eyes were starting to cloud back to their original colour. ‘In my defence,’ he said slowly, as he detached himself from Kevin, before jumping to his feet, stumbling a little. His voice was shaking. Jughead seemed to have reverted back to whatever ‘normal’ meant in his world. He had gone from a grinning animal covered in Kevin Keller’s blood, to a stumbling fool grabbing at strands of his hair and yanking at them. ‘He smelled really good. I couldn’t help it.’ He seemed to be mentally at war with himself, his mouth stretched into a grimace, fangs on display. And then his gaze was on Archie. Who was still curled into a foetal like position. Betty watched in surprise as the vampire staggered over to the boy, falling to his knees on splintered glass.

‘Damn, Archie, Jughead murmured. ‘What have you gotten yourself into?’

Then the vampire turned to Betty and Veronica and wrinkled his nose . ‘So, Andrews is a _dog_?’ he questioned. ‘I knew something smelt off about him.’ He seemed more hostile knowing Archie was a wolf. He slowly made his way over to Archie, who had passed out from the pain. The red-head lay on his front, breathing heavily. His breaths were loud, like he was gasping for air. His jacket was shredded, barely clothing his chest and his jeans were strips of denim hanging from his splayed legs.

Jughead crawled over to the boy, and Betty finally found the voice that had been stuck in the back of her throat since Veronica Lodge had grown a tail.

‘Don’t touch him!’ She squeaked.

‘Touch him?’ Jughead snarled, whipping his head around. ‘Who do you think I am?’ his gaze momentarily flicked to where Kevin was lying. ‘Don’t answer that.’ He muttered. Then his lips twisted into a grimace. ‘Actually, for your information, I didn't kill the Keller kid. My bite’s are clean and effective.’ He said. The vampire turned his attention back to the fallen werewolf, his voice softening. ‘I'm not gonna kill him. We’re bro’s.’ He shrugged. ‘Plus, he stinks of _dog_.’

Jughead prodded Archie’s shoulder and the boy groaned. ‘Archie?’ he murmured. His head then snapped to Betty, and he was grinning a little, his eyes playful. ‘I should have bitten _you_ for making that bullshit article about me.’ And Betty couldn’t help herself. ‘But the article was true!’ she argued.

Jughead pulled a face. ‘I’m a vampire.’ He said, in a _duh!_ kind of way. ‘I don’t have an eating disorder.’

Veronica jumped in. ‘And I'm not scared of water,’ she muttered. ‘It just makes me feel weird.’

Jughead cocked his head with a smirk, a fang poking from his lips. ‘Yeah, no kidding. You’re a fish.’

‘Siren.’ Veronica corrected. ‘And my teeth are a lot sharper than yours, Twilight.’

Jughead chuckled. ‘So we’re calling each other based on our species now?’ He shoved Archie. ‘Hey, Wolf boy! Wake up!’ Archie only groaned, muttering something about being late for school.

‘Speaking of species,’ Jughead spoke up. He turned to look at Betty.

‘What are you?’ He questioned, and Betty had been so busy watching the Vampire and The Siren interact, she had forgotten how to speak.

‘What?’ she ended up hissing back.

‘Your _species_, Betty.’ Jughead spoke like she was a five year old kid. ‘What are you?’

Betty froze. She wasn’t actually sure. Jughead nodded in understanding, when she didn’t answer. She couldn’t believe this. She was having a conversation (kind of) with two mythical creatures, while her friend was bleeding out. Jughead must have read her mind, because he rolled his eyes. ‘Like I said, don’t worry about Keller. He’s fine. He’s just going to have a pretty bad hangover.’

Betty stared. ‘He hasn’t drank anything?’

Jughead laughed. ‘No, I mean blood, you idiot.’ He chuckled, showing his fangs again. ‘I drained Keller. Like I said, my bite is small and effective. My blood is currently coursing through his system.’

Veronica stared at the boy. ‘You turned him into a vampire?!’ she squeaked.

Jughead shrugged. ‘He was boring, anyway. I’d love to see what he’s like as a new-born.’

'Kids?' Mr Wetherbee’s sudden voice splintered Betty's thoughts and she was momentarily brought back to reality; where she was standing frozen in the middle of a classroom with a werewolf, a Siren and a Vampire. Or two vampires. And there was glass littering every possible surface. The others turned to the door too. Veronica’s expression was panicked. ‘What do we do?’ She gestured wildly to Kevin, who was still in a heap on the floor. Jughead frowned. ‘Wait, who locked the door?’

_Actually, yeah. _Betty thought, panicking a little. The door was locked.

Veronica looked on edge, her eyes glowing a radioactive green. The girl’s teeth were gritted. ‘How the hell do we explain him?!’ she gestured wildly to Kevin, and then to Archie. ‘He looks like he’s been attacked!’

Veronica was right. Even if Archie _had_ healed, his clothes were in tattered rags hanging from his body as he lay motionless, curled into himself.

‘Just throw him out of the window,’ Jughead said casually. ‘He’ll complete the change faster.’ Then he frowned, shaking his head of chocolate curls. ‘Actually, forget that. I got that from The Vampire’s assistant.’ He shrugged. ‘As you guys can already tell, I’m a pretty shitty vampire.’

Veronica frowned. ‘Wait, do you mean Kevin or Archie?’

Betty bristled. ‘Are you seriously considering throwing them out of the window?!’

Veronica hurried over to the pane, pressing herself against the window as she stared at the drop. ‘They’re both practically immortal anyway, right?’ She hissed, desperately.

‘No!’ Betty hissed, at the same time as Jughead muttered; ‘Sure.’

‘What the hell are you doing in there?!’ The door rattled. Mr Wetherbee’s voice went straight through Betty, and she winced. ‘If you kids don’t open the door, you’re in detention for a month!’

‘Someone locked us in!’ Jughead yelled back. ‘Technically, we’re in here against our will, sir!’

Betty thought the principle might yell back, but there was only an eerie silence following in his wake.

‘We should kill him.’ Jughead turned to the girls. ‘All of us collectively. We can make a pact and everything.’ He frowned then, his expression crumpling. ‘What’s that?’ his eyes darkened, his fangs reappearing. Jughead’s gaze was suddenly on the door and he pressed his hand over his nose and mouth. Veronica let out a startled hiss, and her hand also slammed against her nose and mouth. Betty stared at the two of them, and her stomach flipped over. ‘What is it?’ she whispered. But she was already seeing it, glistening in front of her face. It was like a dense fog that settled in the air, like a radioactive cloud. Veronica squeezed her eyes shut, coughing into her hands. Jughead’s eyes were wide, no longer teasing, He pulled off his jacket, coughing loudly, and knelt next to Archie, wrapping it around the boy’s mouth and nose as he could. Betty thought just for a second, that it was only affecting the two of them. But her throat suddenly tickled, her nostrils burning. She couldn’t help letting a wet cough escape her lips. When she wiped her mouth, her hand came back red.

Blood. Betty stared at the scarlet smears, and then remembered Jughead’s teeth sharp sharp enough to tear her head off. She shoved her hand into her pocket, and prayed the boy didn't smell her.

‘Vervain and Wolfsbane.’ Jughead muttered, his dark eyes had turned a dark red again. ‘The perfect concoction to stun, knock into tomorrow, or kill a Supernatural.’

He was already moving towards the door, clearly not playing games anymore. He grabbed the handle, before letting out a snarl, and jumping back, wafting his hand.

‘What?!’ Veronica hissed. ‘What is it?’

‘The door handle,’ he growled, taking a few steps back. ‘Someone’s wrapped vervain around it.’

‘Hang on, I’ll try.’ Veronica attempted to yank the door open, but she too hissed, pulling her hand back. Jughead put his head in his hands. ‘We’re fucked.’ He laughed a little. ‘Man, someone _really_ wants to kill us if they've bothered mixing Vervain, Wolfs-bane, _and_ Coral?’

Betty looked at Veronica for explanation. The girl shrugged. ‘Basically our Kryptonite.’

Veronica had gone an unnatural shade of white. Almost a sickly green colour. Betty pressed her hand against her mouth and nose too, her eyes wide. ‘What do we- what do we do?’ she whispered. She could feel the gas seeping into her nostrils and lips, poisoning her blood, organs, brain. It felt like she was slowly being suffocated. ‘Okay, we need a plan.’ Jughead choked. ‘Like right fucking now.’

The classroom seemed to be filling up with the stuff. Betty stared at it, suddenly feeling incredibly light-headed. She giggled a little for no reason, and stared as the mist like foggy substance danced in the air, slowly but surely killing the five of them. She heard Jughead scoff. ‘Well, I'm glad someone’s happy about our demise.’ He was kneeling on the floor next to Archie. Veronica was next to him.

‘Is he dead?’ Veronica murmured, gesturing to the red-head. Jughead shrugged. ‘Nah. It takes a lot to kill a werewolf.’ He murmured, lifting his gaze and frowning at the thickening green mist enveloping the air. Betty realized the stuff wasn't an easy kill- like a gun shot to the head, or decapitation. No, it was a stab in the stomach. It was an aneurysms shutting down a brain after a head injury. It was a slow and painful death. ‘I think this stuff is just keeping him asleep.’

'That's what we're calling it?' Veronica giggled a little, pushing her dark hair from her face. '"stuff"?'

Jughead growled. 'Shut it, Fish. I'm trying to think.'

Veronica ignored the boy's attempt at lame humour. ‘Can’t you like, I dunno, teleport away or whatever?’ Veronica hissed at the vampire, and then, sounding hopeful; ‘Can’t you teleport us all out of here?’ her voice broke a little.

Jughead shook his head. ‘I'm too weak.’ He groaned. ‘Plus, we don’t “teleport” we’re just fast.’

Betty decided, after a mental argument with herself, to join her fellow supernatural’s on the floor. She could barely stand up, anyway. Betty cringed when she stood on bits of splintered glass, before she let herself slump onto the floor and drew her knees to her chest. Jughead, despite looking like he was on death’s door, regarded her with a weak smile. ‘So before we die and all,’ He murmured, coughing a little. Betty pretended not to notice the scarlet tint on his lips. He didn't lick it away

Jughead leaned forward with a smile. ‘Hey, it’s like The Breakfast club. Except the place isn't choking with pot, it’s choking with poison. And we, my friends, are dying, not dancing.’

Veronica rested her head in her lap. ‘Don’t forget the unconscious werewolf.’ She grumbled, then laughed, but it turned into a chest rattling cough. Jughead nodded, grinning. ‘And the new born vampire!’ Betty found herself smiling too. It was like the three of them had been dosed with loopy gas. ‘So, anyway-‘ Jughead continued. His gaze settled on Betty. ‘Why did you print that article?’

Betty shrugged. ‘You’re the most interesting people in Riverdale High.’

Veronica lifted her head. ‘Aww, she’s getting soft with us 'cos she’s gonna die.’ Veronica slurred her words a little. There was barely any air left. The five teens had been completely enveloped with the stuff. Betty found herself giggling. ‘No really, I did the article because...’ and then she trailed off, frowning. Her mind was in shambles, straying thoughts slowly being suffocated. But she did remember something. Betty sat up. Her chest began to burn, to clench. Like it was on fire. Jughead and Veronica were meandering on the edge of consciousness. The two of them were having a mumbled conversation about narwhals. Betty thought back to the article, who had told her to write it. But her memory was fading, like everything else.

‘What are your onions on narwhals? Jughead mumbled.

_'Onions.' _Veronica mimicked, scoffing a weak laugh. 

Betty wasn't sure if he was asking her, and she couldn't believe it- a vampire was choking to death. A werewolf was unconscious, completely vulnerable. Veronica and Jughead were edging closer to Archie’s state. Jughead had already retired to the floor, curling up. While Veronica stretched out on the tiles, as if imagining her tail to be there. Joining them did seem pretty appealing. She ended up pressing her face into the floor, gasping for precious oxygen while tiny fragments of glass filled her mouth. ‘_Elizabeth,’ _Her mother’s voice rang in her mind, rattling her brain back to awareness.

_'It's time for me to tell you who you are.' _

How exactly had someone managed to get a Vampire, a Werewolf and a Siren in the same room?

A suppressed conversation, or rather a memory that had been intentionally picked from her mind, hit her, like a speeding train. ‘You need to remember to write the following;’

_‘Jughead Jones doesn't eat.’_

_‘Veronica Lodge is scared of water.’_

_‘And finally; Archie Andrews has anger management problems.’_

_‘And it’ll work?’ – _Her own voice.

‘_It will. Now, take this. It’ll make them think you’re like them. Here. Douse yourself in it, Betty.’_

Betty flinched away from the memory, the voices in her mind, and struggled to even lift her head. Though she was seeing herself, touching the door handle when she came in, her hands making contact with everything. She had been a walking virus. Slowly poisoning the classroom. But why would she poison _herself? _

When Betty somehow managed to turn her neck, a growl made her freeze. Shivers rocketed up her spine. Betty slowly turned, and in the midst of the blanket of fog misting her vision, next to Jughead and Veronica, who were slumped together, their bodies practically glued together- right there, glistening in the after-light, was a pair of bright yellow eyes staring right back at her. 


	3. Chapter 3

‘So, how did you say it was going to affect me?’ Betty asked again. She frowned, holding her hand out in front of her. The stuff wasn’t any kind of liquid or gas. It was a type of glitter- like some kind of fucked up fairy dust her mother had created. When Betty squinted, she caught glimpses of green flecks decorating the palm of her hand. ‘I mean, will it make me sick?’ She asked innocently. She couldn’t seem to tear her gaze from the light dusting on her hand. It might have been the thousandth time, but she really was confused. Her mother paused with a sigh. She turned to her daughter, her hand planted on her hip.

‘How many more times Elizabeth?’ The woman frowned at her, and Betty resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother shrugged with a smile. ‘I’ve told you,’ she murmured. ‘The combination of Wolfs Bane, Vervain and Coral will…’ she trailed off. ‘I guess it will kick start your powers?’ Her mother smiled reassuringly. ‘But don’t worry. You’ll be in complete control, Betty.’

‘What if I’m not?’ She couldn’t help muttering. It had been on her mind all day. The idea of completely blanking and forgetting everything while also coming into her powers. It sounded as terrifying as it did exciting.

‘And…how long until it starts to take effect?’ She murmured. She could feel her nose start to tickle, her chest tightening as she breathed in the intoxicating aroma. Alice chuckled. ‘Betty, don’t be scared, honey. It will only affect you because, you, as much as I hate it..’ The woman pulled a face. ‘You’re a Supernatural.’

‘But what if it doesn’t affect me the way it should?’ Betty asked. Alice sighed impatiently, before moving towards her daughter. Betty shrunk back a little when her mother brushed her hand lightly across her cheek. ‘There.’ she smiled. ‘You’re covered in it, Elizabeth.’ Her mother’s eyes narrowed slightly. ‘Though you must get out as soon as you can. Do you understand me?’

Betty nodded stiffly. Her heart was hammering. Alice seemed to sympathize with her and paused. ‘When it happens, Betty. Don’t be frightened, okay?’ Betty smiled softly ‘I won’t mom.’ She resisted the urge to spit out; ‘How could I be frightened? I won’t know what’s going on!’

Alice Cooper smiled and continued her task. She moved gracefully as she weaved around each desk, each chair and tapping each surface. She carried herself with confidence as she stroked each gloved tip over every surface in the classroom. Betty couldn’t help admire her mother’s beauty and youthfulness. Everything had to be tainted, she had told Betty sternly. Everything had to be perfect. There was no way three supernatural kids could escape a mixed concoction of their very kryptonite. Betty followed her mother at a slower pace, instead choosing to pace herself. She paused at each desk and gently let her bare fingers grace the surface. Betty had chosen not to wear gloves. She wanted to get used to the poison. She couldn’t help shivering. Betty wasn’t even a full witch yet and she already felt powerful. She was still a half-blood. Well, she had been her entire life. Betty was limited to spell book magic. Which was tedious and hard to learn. She could only do small spells, like levitation. Though it had taken her two years to perfect even that. With her full powers as a full blood she would be able to do anything. Any spell she could think of.

Technically, she wasn’t supposed to fully enter her full powers until tomorrow. But first there was Initiation. Her mother had to go through it, Polly and Chic went through it two years ago. And now- it was Betty’s turn. Every witch when turning sixteen and fully coming into their powers, had to prove their allegiance to their circle by killing three young supernaturals. When it had been Polly’s turn, she had pretended to befriend a pack of werewolves in her class. She had invited them to a party, which was of course in the woods, the night of her ceremony. She had dressed up in a long white dress and stabbed all three of them straight through the heart. Though it wasn’t that easy. All young witches were to have their memory wiped before they started initiation. It was a test. To see if they could barrel through their foggy minds and focus on the the task. At first Polly had been confused. She hadn’t remembered she was a witch. Though as the ceremony loomed closer, it slowly started to come back to her. Polly had told her, with a breath of laughter, that she had actually started to get feelings for one of the wolf boys. What was his name again? Betty couldn’t remember. Something beginning with a H. ‘Betty, I was about to kiss him!’ Her sister had boasted proudly.

‘And what happened?’ Her younger self had asked, part confused and maybe a little disgusted. At that time thirteen year old Betty wasn’t too into the whole Witch thing. She just wanted a cute guy to notice her and live in her world of pink pastel and floral patterns. Polly had giggled. ‘The second he pulled out of the kiss, Little sis, I already had the knife in his heart.’

Betty knew she would be better. She would be ruthless, she wouldn’t let both her wiped memory or her stupid teenage hormones affect her initiation. Three kids were going to die by her hand, and she was going to finally become a full witch. A full blood.

Though killing the boy’s hadn’t really bothered her sister. Besides. Riverdale High weren’t exactly quiet about their Supernatural problem. They were everywhere. They were just careful to not expose themselves. Betty’s family worked closely with the mayor to slowly and quietly rid their town of them. There wasn’t a question of morality with the monsters. That’s what her mother had insisted when she was a child. Only just coming into her beta powers. They deserved it. Riverdale needed cleansing of its ghastly sickness. Alice Cooper had told her children the story countless times. Though it never failed to send shivers down Betty’s spine. It started back in the 1900’s. Her ancestors had attempted a spell to bring one of their own back to life. But in doing that, they had also opened the gates of hell. Allowing every possible supernatural creature in existence cross the barrier between the underworld and the real world, and slip into Riverdale. Soon enough, there were vampire attacks- people were being turned into blood-thirsty beasts who started to tear the town apart. To a human’s knowledge, it was known as The Riverdale Riots. When people fought for ownership of businesses and land. It was The Blossom’s, the second powerful witching family in Riverdale, who created the barrier. Which trapped every supernatural from getting out of Riverdale. Well, they would still leave. Except the spell made sure they forgot about their powers- that they were either a werewolf, a vampire- any species. They completely blanked who they were until they stepped foot in Riverdale once again. To cause havoc. But The Cooper’s and The Blossom’s were slowly getting rid of them. In the form of a special initiation ceremony where a son or daughter of a witching family were to spill the blood of three supernatural beasts. Though there were rules, of course there were. Created by Betty Cooper’s ancestors;

  1. Each beast has to be young, between the ages of twelve years old and eighteen years old.
  2. The son/Daughter **must** be under the influence of a memory-wipe when participating in their initiation.
  3. The ceremony must happen on a full blood moon at the stroke of midnight
  4. The initiate has **two** chances. If the beasts are difficult or human feelings get in the way- the sacrifice must be made before the sun rises or they will not finish their transformation.
  5. If the initiate goes against any of these rules of sympathizes with their chosen victims, they will be stripped of their powers, become a mortal and are required to leave Riverdale.

Betty tried to ignore it, but the fact had haunted her since she had learned the rules. As much as her family tried to ignore it, they weren’t human either. So the barrier didn’t protect witches. They too would lose their memories of their powers, the town. Everything.

So there were two positives of Initiation. Less freaks, and she would get her full powers. Yet if she failed? She’d both be a disappointment in her family, and lose any powers she had, having to live her life as a mere mortal.

Piece of cake. She thought, bitterly.

Betty felt her lips curl into a grin as she quickened her pace. She already knew who her victims were going to be. Three dumb-asses in her year who didn’t know how to act human.** Exhibit A: **Veronica Lodge. The Siren. Betty had learned about Siren’s a few years ago. Beautiful goddess like women who had the voice of an angel, using it to lure people and eat them. The key was the tail. When coming into contact with sea-water, they would revert back to their form. Which was a long mermaid-like tail. Though Siren’s were nothing like Mermaid’s. The difference was; Mermaid’s didn’t have a thirst for human blood. They didn’t have a hypnotic voice which could drag any innocent into their wicked spell. Veronica Lodge really hadn’t tried to hide the fact she was a Siren.. Either that, or the girl was just crummy at it. First of all; There was the talent contest a few months ago. Veronica had hypnotized the audience, so they voted for her. Betty had her managed to cast a protection spell that night so she wasn’t affected, but it still bugged her. The cheerleader hadn’t even bothered with contact lenses. So her radioactive green eyes were almost painfully obvious. Betty had caught the girl numerous times flinching when water was splashed over her or she when it began to rain. It didn’t seem to completely affect her. Veronica either pulled out an umbrella or excused herself from her friends and hurried inside. But it was sea-water the girl was afraid of. The very thing capable of turning her back to her fishy form. The problem with Siren’s was they could easily control their blood lust. So Betty had to drench the girl in sea-water to make her vulnerable.

Betty’s mother had already put a simple spell on the basin in the classroom. Betty still had no idea how she was going to somehow get the girl near the water, especially with her memory wiped of her initiation- her powers. Everything. Her mom had told her she would wake up on the day- completely blank. She would either thrive and push through the block, or- or she would fail miserably.

Betty shivered. But it wouldn’t come to that.

**Exhibit B**: Jughead Jones. The Vampire. He was a a known stoner, some loner-kid most likely to be either found sprawled on the bleachers with his laptop, or bleeding kid’s dry in the janitors closet. He was the first vampire she had ever come across. Like Veronica, she was also shit at hiding the fact he was a blood sucking creature of the night. He never ate. She had once caught him stumbling out of a closet with a girl, who was clearly under his spell. He had wiped trails of scarlet from his lips, fixed his disheveled clothes, and walked off. Leaving the poor girl to aimlessly wander around. Betty knew he was using her as some kind of portable feeding pack. The last time she had seen the girl, she had a colorful scarf covering her neck. Then she mysteriously disappeared. That was when Betty knew it. Jughead Jones was dangerous. He had to go.

Finally, there was: **Exhibit C. **Archie Andrews. The Werewolf. Some hot headed jock in her year who was showing signs of his transformation. He had a raging temper and had already started to growl and grumble. Betty knew wolf blood ran in his family. His father, Fred Andrews, had been her mother’s initial victim. But he he hadn’t transformed. Alice had been absolutely sure Fred had been about to go full wolf when he turned sixteen. But it had been a false alarm. He was human, and according to her mother, had managed to avoid the change. But Alice knew Archie wouldn’t. In fact, Archie Andrews was Alice’s suggestion. He was a confused kid not even capable of his abilities. If he didn’t know how to control himself or his anger, he also had to go. Betty’s family were reluctant to clear his up his mess. The trail of dead bodies in his wake. Betty didn’t know when he was going to transform, so her plans were simple. If she remembered them. She would “accidentally” cut her finger, and hopefully spike the boy’s attention. They would rush forward, but by then the room would be choked with poison. Knocking them out effectively, so she could cart the three of them into Sweet-water forest, to the boarder between Riverdale and Greendale. Greendale was a mortal town. The Ceremony had to take place exactly on the line between the two town’s.

Betty wasn’t sure how she’d kill them yet. But something was striking inside her, a hunger, an adrenaline. It was her powers coming in slowly, making her more excited. Anticipating the morning more and more.

The plan was set in motion. She would publish stories about the three of them, exploiting strange facts about them in The Blue and Gold. Not quite revealing their secret- but just enough to make them wary, freak them out a little. Betty knew she had to instigate a fight with them. It wouldn’t be hard. All three of them sure to be fuming with her. She would make it worse, hopefully causing a proper fight, and from there it was easy. She would be thrown in detention with them, the teacher was already under a spell to leave abruptly- and she would and get her chance. Kevin Keller was damage control. Yes, he was one of Betty’s closest friends- actually, her only friend. Funnily enough, it was her birthday. Well, of course it was. She was turning sixteen.

Betty wondered if she would remember it.

Kevin. Her mind automatically went back to her friend. Her heart squeezed a little. Despite his father, the town’s sheriff knowing of the town’s paranormal problem, the poor kid had no idea that she was a blossoming witch, that Veronica, Archie and Jughead were kid supernaturals, or that he was about to become bait in her plan. If she wasn’t able to cut her finger and set a trap for the Vampire and the Werewolf, she had put a spell on him. It was a simple hypnotism. Telling him the exact time, the exact moment to slice a two inch gash down his hand with anything he could get his hands on. Betty was almost 100% sure he was either going to get torn apart or turned by either Archie or Jughead. If he was turned; she would kill him quickly. Just a snap of his neck. She would thank him for his sacrifices. If Kevin Keller had to die so she could complete initiation, then so be it.

Betty finished contaminating the classroom, and went to stand by the door. She stared at it for a few seconds, before grabbing the door handle, slathering the stainless silver with poison. Wolfs Bane, Vervain and Coral. She smiled confidently. Her mother came to stand by her side. ‘You’ll do fantastic, Elizabeth.’ Alice murmured softly. Reassuringly. Betty felt something cold grace her neck, as if a feather was rippling the surface of her skin. ‘Happy birthday, Elizabeth.’ Alice murmured.

Betty felt her chest tighten and she choked back tears. She reached up and grasped at the chain her mother had clasped around her neck. It was her grandmother’s ring hanging on a necklace of silver. It had been passed down to her mother- and now she was getting it. The ring was spiked, once again with Vervain and Wolfs-bane. The necklace wasn’t just a birthday gift however. It acted as a miracle in her initiation if anything went wrong. The chain was just in case she didn’t remember and found herself surrounded by monsters. As well as shielding her scent from the beasts she was hunting, the necklace was supposed to automatically detach itself from around her neck as the time crept closer to the ceremony. Or worst case scenario; she actually allied with them. Sympathized with them.

But Betty knew it wouldn’t come to that. She was strong, she was powerful. She was a Cooper.

They wouldn’t stand a chance.

~*~

Betty stumbled backwards, a scream beginning to rumble in her throat. But she was too choked up. Her chest ached, her vision was blurry. But she was sure she wasn’t hallucinating. Bright Yellow eyes. Glaring at her through the thick green mist choking the classroom. She couldn’t move. Betty managed a few choked breaths and attempted to turn around and make a break for it, but her legs weren’t working properly. She could feel her body slowly shutting down. She had to stay calm. Betty swallowed and forced herself to face the Yellow eyes. But it wasn’t just the eyes. There was a silhouette inches away from her, and she could hear the faintest growl rumbling from their throat. She wanted to run. Every inch of common sense that she had was telling her to turn and run for the door. But there was a part of her saying _no, just assess the situation_. Whatever had knocked out (Killed?) Veronica and Jughead, wasn’t affecting her as much. She could still move. Even if she did feel like she was dragging her limbs through thick molasses. Her head pounded, and she felt like she was breathing fire. But she was conscious. She was alive.

Betty risked a glance to the floor, where the Vampire and Siren still lay, flat on their back’s. She didn’t know where Kevin was, whether he too had fell victim to the poison and was dying (or dead?) or he was a newborn prowling the perimeter of the classroom, just waiting to sink his newly sharpened fangs into her neck. _No!_ Betty couldn’t think like that.

Archie. She realized, with a jolt of fear striking her heart. He was no longer on the floor, curled into himself. Which meant… Betty held her breath and forced herself not to scream. ‘Hello?’ She found herself saying, or rather squeaking. She could practically already feel his claws digging into her neck, holding her in a superhuman grip so strong she’d be completely helpless. Betty was new to the whole supernatural thing, with her only knowledge being from TV shows. Which wasn’t great. She didn’t know the first thing about werewolves or vampires, or Siren’s. But she _did_ know their human forms. Betty tried hard not to think about how painful it would be when the wolf boy ripped into her, tearing her limb from limb. Instead, she forced herself to take a daring step forwards, and as soon as she did, the growl deepened. Archie’s eyes seemed to glow brighter, glistening in the thick mist.

‘Archie?’ Betty managed. ‘Archie Andrews?’ She swallowed. ‘It’s me, Betty Cooper.’ She said softly, before choking out a cough. She managed to gag it quickly, but felt something warm splatter onto her hand. Blood. She winced, quickly wiped the palm of her hand on her skirt, and held her breath. She didn’t have much time, and right now, this was either a blessing in disguise- a powerful werewolf (Well, she hoped?) capable of getting through the classroom door and saving them all, or her untimely death as he broke her neck and hungrily ravaged her insides. Betty felt goosebumps prickle down her arms. But she had to face him.

Betty had to know if it was him. She glimpsed the moon still hanging in the pitch dark sky. It wasn’t full. Betty had seen the first two seasons of Teen Wolf, and even if it was_ fiction_ \- there must be an element of truth somewhere. She prayed she was right.

The silhouette moved closer, and Betty was sure he was going to senselessly grab for her. But instead, she only stared, her vision clearing a little. Archie. His shirt and Letterman jacket hung off him in tattered strips. His red hair was plastered to his head with sweat, and his arms were wrapped around his chest as if to comfort himself. But his iris’s were still glowing.

‘Betty?’ A low grumble, slowly becoming more human. Betty watched as the boy’s eyes seemed to flicker from Yellow to a bright Orange, and then slowly cloud back to human Brown. Archie’s voice trembled, and he staggered into her, as if the spell had been broken. She caught him quickly and helped him up. Archie was speechless for a second, his gaze clouded with confusion as he whipped his head around, grabbing his bearings. ‘What’s going on?’ He hissed, before his gaze landed on the ground. On Veronica and Jughead practically swamped by the cloud of poison. Betty could hardly see through it, but she imagined Archie’s vision was a lot clearer- since he was a wolf and all. ‘Are they…’ Archie trailed off, and hissed out a breath. ‘Oh god, are they dead?!’

Betty licked her dry lips, trying to enunciate words on her tongue. It wasn’t easy when she was sure of all her brain functions as well as motor functions were slowly coming to a halt.

She wasn’t sure if they were dead. If they weren’t, they were going to be soon.

‘Can you..’ Betty forced the words out, but it was hard. Her throat was like sandpaper. ‘Can you get the door open?’ She was well aware of the slur in her speech. Archie turned to the door, disoriented, before nodding. ‘I can try?’ Before she could say anything, the boy was at the door, ramming his body against it. Betty followed him, stumbling a little. She expected the boy to cry out when he grabbed the door knob, like Jughead and Veronica. The poison affecting him too. But to her surprise, he yanked the door open easily- Betty couldn’t help gazing in awe. He hadn’t just got the door open, he’d ripped it cleanly off its hinges. Archie seemed to stare at the door still attached to the handle, as it crashed to the floor. Betty figured he too was surprised, as if he hadn’t been expecting to be that strong. ‘Okay,’ Archie breathed out a soft laugh, seemingly in a daze. ‘Did I just a rip a door clean off?’

Betty wasn’t sure how to reply. Her slow brain struggled to register what was going on.

Though after a moment, she snapped out out of it. The door was open, Betty realized.

Something snapped inside her. She watched the mist start to filter out of the room slowly, like it was being sucked down a plug hole. Archie too snapped out of it, and was grabbing Veronica and Jughead off of the floor, throwing them over his shoulders. She watched Jughead’s head bounce, his limp arms flailing. Betty felt something twist in her stomach.

_Please don’t be dead_. She thought. Even if he was…technically already dead. With the fog disappearing out of the classroom, Betty was able to see the damage. Jughead and Veronica were an unnatural shade of white. But they were immortal, right? She had read Twilight. Seen the movies. Though Jughead was no Edward Cullen. He looked so…_human_. Just lying there on Archie’s shoulder as the boy moved with superhuman speed and precision, coming to an abrupt stop by the window.

Betty stood there for a moment, letting the poison soak into her skin. Slowly but surely killing her. She felt her legs start to give-way and was so sure she was going to hit the ground, before someone caught her. Strong arms yanked her up, and there was Archie Andrews, yelling something in her face. At first it was incomprehensible garble, but then his words started to register in her suffocating brain. ‘Kevin!’ The boy was yelling. ‘You need to get Kevin, I can’t- Betty, He reeks of it, I can’t-’

Reeks of what? But as soon as the question brushed across her mind, there was already an answer. _Blood_. She was moving, as if adrenaline was already driving her forwards. She told herself not be frightened, Kevin was still her friend, he was still him. But when she fell to her knees, managing to slice her knees on the glass still jutting from the floor from earlier, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t pick him up. Her knees burned with pain, and she could feel blood running down her leg, a scarlet scream pooling on the floor. Kevin lay there on his back, his eyes shut, lips parted slightly. But his skin had taken on a marble like hue, like he had been turned to stone. When she placed a shaky hand over his heart, there was no beat. And he was freezing cold.

‘Betty!’ Archie’s yell was an impatient growl. ‘Grab him, and let’s go!’ Betty found herself nodding, and picking the boy up, bridal style. He barely weighed anything. She held him at arms length, wincing. Betty could feel her blood soaking her legs. She was carrying what she presumed was a new-born vampire, and following a werewolf carrying two other bloodthirsty creatures.

She was crazy. But even if she did want to run, something inside her stopped her. Maybe it was the supernatural part of her, the piece of her she didn’t understand yet. Because she was _sure_ she was like them. She was at least _something_. How else had she managed to cause all the science equipment to just explode by getting angry at Veronica’s catty teasing?

Betty followed Archie intentionally slowly, making sure she was at least a foot behind him. The hallway was silent, dim-lit by the crappy lights attached to the ceiling. Her chest was still aching from whatever the hell she had inhaled, but she could feel her mind start to clear. Betty flinched at every sound as she tiptoed down the hall. Archie was waiting for her at the other end. He still carried Veronica and Jughead. ‘Are you okay?’ He shouted, and his voice echoed loudly, reverberating in her brain. Betty winced but trudged on. ‘Yeah!’ she managed to reply weakly. Though she was light-years away from being _okay_. She had been a normal teenage girl this morning, having to deal with normal problems like feeling ill, her shitty classmates, and detention. Yet it had somehow turned out that the nausea was the beginning of some kind of supernatural ability inside her, her so-called “shitty” classmates were actually fictional creatures who she had nearly perished with- and her best friend had been turned into a vampire. She hadn’t even known vampire’s existed until Jughead Jones had flashed his fangs at her in a grin.

Now she was sure he was dead- or..undead-er?

Betty had to keep looking down at Kevin, to see if he was going to suddenly dramatically open his eyes, his teeth curling into sharp fangs and go for her jugular. But as far as she knew, that only happened in the movies. Betty quickened her pace and joined Archie, before he pushed open the doors and the two of them stumbled out into the bitter October chill. Archie trudged over to the parking lot by the main gates, and she had no choice but to follow him, with Kevin still sandwiched against her chest. If anyone caught them, not only would they get in trouble for skipping detention- she was pretty sure she and Archie would go down as both kidnappers and murderers. Considering they were shuffling over to Archie’s beaten up truck and popping the boot open, about to throw in three unconscious classmates. Yeah, that would be hard to explain to Mr Weatherbee.

‘So, what’s Jughead again?’ Archie asked, his voice breaking into a growl. He tried to hide it with a cough, but Betty still shivered. She shrugged as the redhead dug in his pocket for his car keys. ‘He’s a vampire,’ she replied casually, startled at herself for saying it so nonchalantly. She jutted her head at Veronica. ‘And she’s a siren.’ Archie choked out a laugh of disbelief, once again rumbled in his throat. She noticed his hands were shaking as he unlocked the boot. ‘And Kevin…? is he…’ Archie frowned. ‘I dunno, like us?’

Betty shivered and nodded. The image of him screaming and howling as his body twisted and cracked, and -

‘When you changed you weren’t the only one,’ she explained, her voice barely a whisper. The memories came back flooding her mind. Archie and Jughead lunging forwards, suddenly transforming from normal high school kids to fanged freaks right in front of her eyes. But Archie had stopped, halting as he fell to his knees letting out a howl of pain. Betty closed her eyes and blocked out the memory. Because she could still hear Jughead’s teeth ripping into Kevin’s throat. You both went to hurt Kevin,’ she murmured. But because you started your-’ she struggled to say it. ‘When you started to…’

‘When I started to change into a wolf.’ Archie muttered, and she nodded silently. ‘Jughead got there first and killed him.’

Archie hissed out a breath between his teeth. ‘Nice.’ He muttered. ‘Always thought he was some kind of animal.’

Betty couldn’t help laughing at the irony, though Archie frowned at her. ‘What?’

She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Betty turned her attention to Jughead, whose head was dangling at an awkward position down the redhead’s back. ‘Careful!’ Betty couldn’t help hissing, when Archie went to drop Veronica and Jughead into his boot.

Archie turned to her irritated. ‘He’s a vampire.’ He said, rolling his eyes. ‘I _think_ he’ll be okay, Betty.’

Betty was about to argue. But he was probably right. She felt ridiculous for even being worried about Jughead Fucking Jones. Who had ripped into her best friend and turned sweet Kevin Keller, the sheriff’s son, into an undead monster.

Archie carefully lay Jughead and Veronica inside, careful not to whack their heads on the trunk. Betty hesitated before piling Kevin in too. Once the three kids were curled up inside, Archie shut the boot and turned to her, running a hand through his hair. It suddenly hit her that she wasn’t exactly part of any of this- she wasn’t a vampire or a werewolf. She was just a scared kid who could _maybe_ make things explode. Archie frowned at her, his eyebrows furrowing. ‘Are you coming?’’ He asked, tapping the hood. She noticed a tint of hope in his tone, but before she could mentally question it, he caved. ‘Betty, I can feel it…’ he shuffled uncomfortably, and then looked up at the sky, his eyes narrowing. Betty followed his gaze and found herself looking at a near full moon which she swore was tinted red. _Oh god, he could turn at any time_. Her mind hissed. _Just go home!_

Archie was shuffling uncomfortably, tearing way too violently at his hair. His eyes flickered orange for just a second, and Betty bit into her lip so hard it bled. It reminded her of his silhouette in the fog and the unmistakable growl in his throat.

‘Betty, I don’t know what’s happening to me but if what happened happens again- If I start to change while I’m at the wheel,’ Archie shuddered, and she understood. As much as she wanted to go home, bury herself into her covers and pretend all of this was some crazy nightmare, she had to go with them. Besides. Kevin was one of _them_ now. She had to know if the was okay. Betty nodded with a tight smile. ‘I’ll drive.’ She said, and made her way over to the drivers side, yanking the door open. Once she was strapped in and Archie was next to her, it suddenly hit her that she didn’t know if she could drive. The fog had gone, and there was just the sweet fresh air around her. But her head was still pounding, sending colorful zigzags spiraling in her vision.

‘We’ll go to my old childhood cabin,’ Archie said, as he climbed in the passenger seat. ‘I’ll give you directions.’

‘Okay.’ Was all she could reply with.

_What’s happening to me?_ She started to panic. It was the same feeling she had in the classroom. Was she going to make something else explode?

‘Are you sure you’re okay?’ Archie frowned at Betty as he tossed her his keys. Betty stared down at them, rolling them around in her hand. She couldn’t figure out what his key-ring was. It was silver and curved, like a ring. She stared at it a moment longer, before she found her hand subconsciously grabbing at her necklace. Huh. She fingered the small ring hanging from the chain. When had she put this on? Betty blinked and found Archie staring at her. Despite everything, the asshole was smirking.

‘What?’ She let go of the necklace like she had grabbed a hot iron, and he shrugged, his eyes shining. Under all the weirdness and the fact he was a wolf, Archie was still a jock. ‘You were really feeling that necklace up. Is it important or something?’

Betty shrugged. She couldn’t even remember putting the damn thing on. Maybe she really was going crazy. ‘It’s just a necklace.’ She muttered. Archie nodded slowly. ‘Alright,’ and then he paused. ‘Betty, are you sure-’

‘I said I’m fine.’ She murmured dreamily before shoving Archie’s keys in the ignition and twisting. The truck started up and Betty felt her stomach flip over. Jesus, if she threw up in Archie’s Andrews’ car, regardless of him being a werewolf, she would die.

Betty figured if she went as slow as possible and gripped the steering wheel hard enough, the migraine treating her to her own private firework display would stop. She started to cruise the truck forwards, and squeezed the wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. She was fine as she drove down the main school road. There was barely any traffic since it was nearing 7pm. Though still. It was quiet for a Friday night. When Betty managed to crawl the truck down another intersection and around a roundabout, she finally risked a look at Archie. he was leaning back in his seat, breathing hard. His eyes were squeezed shut. Archie must have sensed her watching. He twisted his head to frown at her, and she bit back a yelp. She swore there was something pearly white and sharp sticking from his upper lip. ‘What is it?’ He grumbled, trying to disguise his growl with a cough again.

Betty was trembling with fear, with anticipation. If he changed, right now, she was dead. Betty shook her head and swallowed. Though her mind was singing, her anxiety pulling her brain apart. _There are two vampires, a werewolf and a Siren in your car, Betty_. Her mind muttered in sync with the agonizing pain slamming against her skull. _Stay calm_. She thought desperately.

‘Betty?’ Archie whined. He gripped his seat, his fingers slashing into the cheap upholstery.

Betty stared hard at the traffic light, willing it to turn green. When it did, she stamped on the gas, and the car flew forwards. Archie made a yelping noise, but she ignored him, squinting her eyes to try and clear her vision. She could see the road ahead, but the rest was a colorful blur. Betty fought back a cry of frustration. Though she somehow managed not to crash the car. Archie started to give her directions through gritted teeth, but as the ride longer and her grip on the wheel seemed to loosen, Betty started to relax. Archie had stopped trembling and whining, and was sat still with his head leaning against the window. The pain dulled to a throb in the back of her skull, and miraculously, her vision cleared. Betty was starting to mentally celebrate somehow surviving what she was pretty sure was some kind of supernatural panic attack. But the hairs on her back stood up when she saw an orange glow in the distance. It seemed to dance in the air. Archie immediately sat up, wrinkling his nose. ‘Is that fire?’ He hissed.

Betty slowed the car to a crawl and squinted. There were people lining the streets up ahead, and when she got closer, she realized they were holding lit torches. Archie let out a breath, his gaze on the scene before him. ‘Who are those wacko’s?’ He muttered, and Betty found herself asking the same thing. Though as she neared, she could suddenly _see_ the people in the streets, standing there waving flaming torches. She recognized her neighbor, some old woman who gave her candy when she was a kid. But there were others- people she recognized. Cheryl and Jason Blossom in matching white. Reggie Mantle and Moose Mason.

‘Is this some kind of carnival or something?’ Archie murmured.

Betty shrugged. ‘For what?’ she found herself asking. She caught another familiar face, and then had to force herself not to stamp on the brake when she recognized them.

It was her mother. Betty felt her stomach twist as she peered, squinting. But she wasn’t hallucinating. Her mother was with them, holding a flaming torch of her own. She couldn’t help. it. ‘Mom?’ She hissed, as she drove through the crowd littering the streets. Archie scrunched his face up. ‘Your mom is one of those Wacko’s?’ He asked incredulously.

Betty flinched when her mother caught her eye and winked. Before taking a step back. ‘I…’ Betty was speechless. What the hell was her mom doing? Though things only got weirder. She saw her siblings come into view. Polly and Chic.

‘Wait, Reggie?!’ Archie hissed, jumping up to press his face against the window. ‘What the hell is he doing with them?’ He turned to her then, his brown eyes wide. ‘Remember that scene in the Simpson’s movie when the town went after Homer and the others with flaming torches?’ He whimpered, pressing himself into his seat and bowing his head as if he was hiding.

Betty could only nod as the two drove away from the_\- gathering? What the hell was it?_ She could still see the blur of fire when she looked back. Archie shivered. ‘That’s what whatever the fuck we just witnessed reminds me of.’

She wished she could laugh and prove Archie wrong, but it was exactly what she had been thinking too. It was just like it; a whole town going on a manhunt with flaming torches. But who were her family hunting? And why?

~*~

Archie’s cabin wasn’t anything special, but Betty wasn’t expecting much anyway. The drive to the cabin took half an hour, and it was buried deep in Sweet-water woods. Betty wondered if even as a kid, Archie wanted his own territory. The door was flimsy and broken, covered in stickers. Archie walked in, wiping his feet on a filthy welcome mat which she thought might have once been a pale blue bath mat. The second Archie walked in, he let Veronica and Jughead slip off his shoulders and onto the soft green carpet. Betty stood in the doorway for a moment, taking everything in. It was dark, but she could still see if she squinted. Archie was right. The cabin wasn’t great, but it was enough. It was the perfect place to hide from suspicious parents. There were posters of superhero’s plastered on every wall and a broken bike still with tricycles. There was even an old waterbed against the far wall.

Archie wandered over to an old string hanging by the door and yanked it. Betty blinked when the cabin flooded with bright yellow light enough to hurt her eyes. ‘Lights still work.’ Archie murmured. Betty nodded.

‘It’s not exactly five stars,’ Archie said, kneeling by Jughead, who was still completely out of it. ‘But it’ll do for now.’ He smiled up at her reassuringly and Betty finally worked up the nerve to step over the threshold. She was still carrying Kevin, and walked over to a ratty sofa, dropping him gently on some scuffed up cushions. Betty’s throat burned. She desperately needed a drink. But the only thing on offer were ancient cans of soda littering the floor. Betty found herself wandering over to Archie. She sat by him, as the boy stared at both the Vampire and the Siren. It was Betty who managed to choke out the words they were both thinking.

‘Are they dead?’ She whispered, her voice breaking. Archie sighed. ‘I don’t know.’ He admitted, before letting out a short hysterical laugh. ‘As you can already tell, I’m new to all of this.’

Betty found herself smiling. ‘Me too.’ They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as Betty focused on Jughead’s pale face, his eyes shut peacefully. She was about to try and shake him awake, when Archie stood up with a groan. When she turned to him, his hands were shaking as he tried to thrust them into his jeans pockets to hide them. ‘Archie?’ She managed to whisper, before he simply shook his head and backed away slowly. ‘Don’t- don’t follow me.’ His voice morphed into a growl, and he quickly turned his head when she was almost sure the boy was going to snarl at her. Betty felt her breath catch in her throat and stood up slowly, warily, but Archie was already out of the door, mumbling a last warning; ‘Follow me and I’ll kill you.’ He had managed, between gasps. The door slammed making her jump, and Betty found herself sinking back onto the floor by the three unconscious teens.

She wanted to follow Archie. But when an earsplitting scream rang out, which could only be the red-head, she crossed her arms over her chest and held her breath. _Don’t scream_. She told herself. Betty ended up pressing her face against her lap and squeezing her eyes shut. The screams stopped after a while of trying to drown them out with her palms pressed against her ears. When Betty finally looked up, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Jughead Jones had sprung awake, and his eyes were bright red. His teeth bared as he snarled at her, his hands clutching at his throat. ‘Blood!’ He rasped. ‘Oh god, I need blood right now!’

Betty felt weak. She jumped up, stumbling a few steps away from the vampire. ‘We- we don’t have any!’ She managed to gasp out, tripping over her feet. The boy glared at her for a second, before his twisted grimace morphed into a fanged grin, his eyes going back to their natural green. ‘Jeez, Relax,’ He smirked when she let out a hiss of frustration. ‘That was a joke?!’

Jughead shrugged, licking his lips. 'Vampire's aren't great at jokes,' He grinned at her. She scowled at him until he lost his smile. ‘Well, I am thirsty for blood, yes. But I can control myself.’ He smiled again proudly. ‘Actually, I’d really like a glass of water.’ The boy paused, before wrinkling his nose, his fangs re-appearing. ‘Where the hell are we?’

Betty was confused by the boy’s actions. ‘Archie’s cabin.’ She choked out. Jughead jumped up, sniffing the air, and she took another involuntary step backwards. ‘Andrews?’ He murmured. ‘I can smell him, So where is he?’

Then he looked directly at her. Betty swore he looked suspicious.

Except Jughead’s gaze wasn’t on her face, she realized, a spike of panic building in her throat. He was staring directly at her blood spattered legs. Oh god. Betty tried to cross them, tried to hide them, but it was fruitless. Jughead had already seen them. His eyes widened, but he didn’t bare his teeth. He only looked confused. He took a step towards her and she bit back a squeak.

‘Stay- stay back!’ She managed, but he only rolled his eyes. ‘Betty, your legs are covered in blood.’ He murmured, and Betty stared at him, confused. ‘So?!’ She spat back, and the boy sighed, pinching the skin between his eyebrows. His eyes suddenly flashed a deep crimson when he looked at her again, and he growled. She recognized that predatory glare. ‘So why can’t I smell you?’

Betty couldn’t speak, and found her hand pawing at her necklace, as if it could save her somehow. Jughead noticed and cocked his head. ‘That’s a nice necklace,’ he murmured. Then he was staring at her, his eyes narrowed. But he didn't blink. He only glared right at her. ‘Repeat after me,’ he murmured softly. ‘’My name is Betty Cooper.’

Betty frowned at him, before spluttering out a laugh. ‘What? What the hell are you doing?’

Jughead frowned, cocking his head once again. ‘Funny.’ He murmured. ‘Betty Cooper, I thought it was strange that I couldn’t smell you, but now I’m curious.’ The boy folded his arms; 'Why can’t I use my compulsion on you?’

Betty was quick to answer back. ‘Because I have a strong mind?’ She managed, weakly. But the boy only chuckled darkly. ‘No,’ He was suddenly inches away from her. She could feel his ice cold breath dancing across her cheeks. Jughead traced his finger along her jaw before his fingers were suddenly grasping at the chain around her neck and yanking violently. She tried to stop him, but his grip was impossible to fight.

‘No, Betty,' His voice broke a little, and she recognized something she'd heard in his voice before. When he was choking to death in the classroom. It was fear.

'Because you’re being protected.’


End file.
